1st real indoor stealth grow attempt - could use some input

Hey all. this is going to be my first real attempt to grow indoors in stealth mode. Could use some input. I have an old coke vending machine that i stripped for parts that is useless. that is until i smoked a fat one and thought "You know, that thing could be the perfect grow cabinet." So i set to work stripping the rest of the unneeded bs outa it. The inside cabinet is about 6' tall, about 2.5' deep and around 3' wide. the sides r lined with galvanized steel. I think once i get it cleaned up and take the buffer to the steel it should be pretty reflective. The refridge unit still works so im not sure if i will leave it in there to help cool things off or yank it cuz it takes up a lot of room. It also came with some nice fans that damned near took my fingers off! lol im going to be running a 150 hps with maybe some other stuff down the road. Possibly putting a self on the top or the bottome for a seperate area for clones. how much room would i need for a clone area? could i use like t5's in it? any ideas or sugesations are greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Abe

i would go with a 250 watt HPS in a space like that
Really nice though man, you could turn that into a stealth dream
The trick would be to leave a space for like a couple of cans so that if someone comes over they can still use it and have no idea that shit was growing in there

tom__420 said:

i would go with a 250 watt HPS in a space like that
Really nice though man, you could turn that into a stealth dream
The trick would be to leave a space for like a couple of cans so that if someone comes over they can still use it and have no idea that shit was growing in there

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i thought about, but i already got a vending machine for beer and another out front full of pop that the neighborhood kids use to help pay for my addictions lol

You should get the 250W hps with the enclosed ballast. like this(http://www.specialty-lights.com/4225.html) I got one from my local grow shop and its perfect for my cab, which is a little smaller than yours. You could end up with a pretty cool set up, it seems like it would be pretty sealed so not much light could get out, you might have to take a tube of bathroom sealant to it or something if its old. And a clone zone doesnt need to be super big. Just enough room for some lights and a humidity dome. If you want you can peep at my pics of my new cabinet, it has a clone station at the bottom. I'm just running three CFL's down there and thats plenty of lumens.

Tgibba said:

You should get the 250W hps with the enclosed ballast. like this(http://www.specialty-lights.com/4225.html) I got one from my local grow shop and its perfect for my cab, which is a little smaller than yours. You could end up with a pretty cool set up, it seems like it would be pretty sealed so not much light could get out, you might have to take a tube of bathroom sealant to it or something if its old. And a clone zone doesnt need to be super big. Just enough room for some lights and a humidity dome. If you want you can peep at my pics of my new cabinet, it has a clone station at the bottom. I'm just running three CFL's down there and thats plenty of lumens.

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Horrible advice the HPS with enclosed ballast get way too hot
With a remote ballast you can have the ballast out of the box and it will considerably drop temps

haha "hey you little kid, give me your money!"

Abe you have basically have what I am working with

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/239311-growing-whirlpool-fridge.html

Take a look

I got a fridge, cleaned it up and drilled a couple holes for intake and exhaust and you have a nice little grow cabinet

Good luck, I opted for a LED light that has zero heat issues

I actually threw in another light to bring the temps up in there

It is very quiet also, show around 59db on the old I phone decibel meter

tom__420 said:

Horrible advice the HPS with enclosed ballast get way too hot
With a remote ballast you can have the ballast out of the box and it will considerably drop temps

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Sorry if that was bad advice, my cabinet has never got above 85 so I figured they were pretty cool.

85°F is where growth is significantly slowed due to the temps
Get your temps down

its usually at 78 but on hot days it gets to 85. But now its winter so Its been in the high 70s. This is only my second grow so I'm still getting my system together. But i'll stop talking about my grow now and get back to the vending machine grow. Sorry abeof78.

skunkman98536 said:

haha "hey you little kid, give me your money!"

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haha yeah sumtin like that!!!!!!

im not too worry about keeping it cool saying winter is around the corner. if im going to worry its going to be how to keep it warm when the lights go out. any ideas there? this thing is in my partially heated garage.

My DIY Dual Cabinet System by Isthisnametaken

One sick build man, hes no joke.

I bet you could get a allot of ideas from him.

Keep growing

thanks for the link Nugs!!! got a few good ideas there. im going to start cleaning the rest of the crap outa there and polish the walls. i decided to get rid of the refridgeration unit since it takes up a lot of room and i wouldnt need it till summer. maybe i can duct the cold air from it in the summer. is about a foot tall enough foir the clone area or should i go taller? i found a heater that are used in pop macines in the winter. so i will hook that up to a programable thermostat. anyways off to work. ill post pics of progress later tonight

later,
Abe

first of all cool idea

[/QUOTE]The inside cabinet is about 6' tall, about 2.5' deep and around 3' wide. the sides r lined with galvanized steel. I think once i get it cleaned up and take the buffer to the steel it should be pretty reflective. [/QUOTE]

be careful how much of the coating you take off with the buffer or you could have rust problems

i didnt think about the rust part. think a film of silicon would prevent rust? im just going to take a wire wheel to it. did a little spot an it got really shiny. is there anything i could use to seal the steel or will galvanized not rust too well?

silicone will help hold it in place but i would spring for a roll of mylar or a can of white paint

good idea might try it myself if i can get a vending machine.give it a good cleaning.for the rust you need to grind it off or it will just spread like in a car.top that off with a good rust proof coat on the bare metal an it will last for years .the only thing i'm wondering is isn't the metal going to heat up?

tom__420 said:

Horrible advice the HPS with enclosed ballast get way too hot
With a remote ballast you can have the ballast out of the box and it will considerably drop temps

Click to expand...

True that. ...also, go 400 watts, you have the room...don't fiddle with a meager 250.

abeof78 said:

im not too worry about keeping it cool saying winter is around the corner. if im going to worry its going to be how to keep it warm when the lights go out. any ideas there? this thing is in my partially heated garage.

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You could probably retain heat by having a minimal air intake during the dark period..maybe set the timer to turn on for like 5 minutes every hour.

If you have the right fans, and some controls for it, you can get the speeds just right...

The problem will be the fluctuations in temps that your garage is subject to. One week its 35 degrees out, next week it's 75.

But, if you can maintain a steady temp in your garage, it'll work great, I'd love to see a pop machine turn green.

ok i said the hell with trying to polish the steel. going to throw the machine in the back of the truck this weekend and run over to the car wash to pressure wash it. sand the interior down and coat it with some rustoleum. then slap some mylar in there and said good enough lol at least with that part